Mon Coeur T'Appartient
by HopelessHogwartian394
Summary: Marinette and Adrien have broken up. Neither of them are really taking it well. There may be a slight possibility that this was a mistake.
1. Chapter 1

Marinette is doing okay these days. At least, that's what she tells herself. She's lying.

It's not like she's doing badly per se, but it's there in the back of her mind, in the way she turns to tell him something and forgets he's not there to hear it, or she takes the wrong turn on the way home because she forgets it's not her home anymore.

She hates it. The constant ache in her chest that she forgets about every so often, the way she can't get over him. It would be easier to stomach if he had left her, but instead it was the other way round, and she still can't fucking get him out of her head or her heart.

It's been a week and a half.

It's not long enough and too long all at once, and Marinette feels out of balance these days.

She worries, too. Three years is long enough to build a certain congruence of habit and so they still both get coffee from the café nearby, and she sees him around frequenting the same places they used to go to together and she now still goes to alone. He's not looking so good these days. He looks tired and out of sorts, and just a little bit like he's falling apart on the inside. She knows the feeling. The fact that she probably has a lot to do with his current state twists her up more inside, and the guilt breaks her a little every time she thinks about it.

She doesn't miss him _that_ much, she tells herself. She doesn't _want_ to go back to what they had, she tells herself. She's not really sure where the lies that she tells herself really end anymore, there are so many. She left him, and she no longer has any claim over him, and it's her own damn fault and she isn't going to be the bitch that leaves a man and then guilts him back into a relationship just because she misses him.

She hopes he's eating okay. And sleeping enough. And not working himself into the ground as they are both prone to do if the other doesn't haul them out of it.

She's hopeless.

* * *

Chat Noir is on the prowl again tonight. She can see him from Alya's balcony, where she's been sleeping in what is technically Alya's bed, but since Alya spends almost every night at Nino's, is more like a spare bed which Marinette has full use of until she can find her own place.

It's pissing her off. Her ridiculous partner who is also apparently her ex-boyfriend is lurking round like a stray that senses food and warmth and she's almost tempted to invite him in but he lost any right to her casual company when he betrayed her trust and made her look like an idiot for close to four years.

This unwelcome reminder was what finally spurred her to get up and go inside instead of shivering outside in the cool autumn air. She shut the door behind her and sagged down onto the bed with an exhausted sigh. She stayed like that for a few seconds before levering herself back into a standing position and going to get ready for bed.

It was ten minutes later, with her hair loose and her pyjamas on, when the doorbell rang while she was in the middle of brushing her teeth. Alya must have forgotten her keys again, and would probably want to talk for a bit, so she spat and rinsed before she went to answer the door. It was not Alya.

Instead standing awkwardly on the other side of the door was Adrien, a mug dangling loosely from his fingers. Marinette shrieked and would have shut the door in his face if he hadn't wedged his foot neatly in the gap. Marinette reluctantly swung the door open once more, because even if she wasn't his biggest fan right now, she didn't hate him enough to physically hurt him. "What do you want?" she asks brusquely.

He blinked slightly and then offered the mug he was holding to her. It was one of her favourites, and she had just been drinking out of it while on the balcony-

 _oh_

He was stuttering as she stared at him blankly. "I-i saw you left it on the railing, and i know it's one of your favourites, a-and i know you would hate for it to get smashed i-if it fell so I th-thought that,"

Marinette gaped at him, unable to muster more than a slight frown. Without anything to say, she accepted the mug with a flat, "Thanks," and then, without thinking, stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his before turning and going back inside, shutting and locking the door behind her. And then stopped dead in her tracks.

 _shit_

She had not meant to do that. _Fucking shiiit._ This was _not_ good. It was a complete accident, simply force of habit. That was all.

It had been _nice_ though, just for a moment, to forget that they weren't together anymore. This was probably going to come back to bite her in the ass though. It was done though, and even Lucky Charm couldn't turn back time. She was just going to have to roll with it, and hope like hell Adrien wouldn't think anything of it.

Plugging her phone into the charger in the kitchen, she made her way into bed, curling up under the covers and shivering at the still unfamiliar absence of another person with her. She fell asleep more easily than in previous nights, but her sleep was fitful and not particularly restful.


	2. Chapter 2

Morning brought no relief for Marinette. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had done, how she had screwed up and _kissed_ Adrien. She had broken up with him and then kissed him, idiot that she was, and now he probably hated her even more, and was just too nice to even mention it.

She's going to have to apologise to him somehow, in a way that could only be construed as an apology between friends, nothing else. Something creative, and that required at least some effort and thought on her part. It couldn't be generic. They have too much history for that.

She continued to mull the problem over as she putters round the tiny flat, tidying as she goes and waiting for Alya to return. Alya is a messy person who seems to leave a mess wherever she goes, and so there is plenty for Marinette to distract herself with. It is the least she could do, as Alya refused to allow her to pay any rent, despite Marinette being able to afford it.

Alya texted her around 11 to let her know that she wouldn't be home until the next day. Marinette let out a fondly exasperated sigh as she read through Alya's profuse apologies. Alya's magazine internship was taking up so much of her best friend's time these days, along with both of them studying and Marinette's commissions and part time job. They barely have any time to spend together, or even just free time to themselves. It was so rare for Marinette to manage a whole day off.

The kitchen area was probably the tidiest space in the apartment, Marinette's parents having long ago impressed upon her the necessity of keeping the space clean. Alya, bless her, was not the sort of person who cooked often, choosing instead to spend her time working or devoting time to one of her numerous blogs, or Nino. So, when Marinette had needed a place to crash, and had moved in to find Alya living off take away and food that didn't need to be cooked, or food that could be microwaved, she had been slightly horrified. It had taken little persuading to get Alya to let her do the cooking for the household.

So here she was, getting ready to cook this week's meals for the two of them, since she had the time. It was more convenient than cooking every night, and this week coming was going to be even more hectic than normal for both of them. It was while she was in the middle of chopping vegetables when the perfect solution to her apology gift to Adrien problem presented itself. It didn't take long to finish dealing with the rest of the vegetables, and the work of a moment to gather everything she would need.

* * *

Adrien did not sleep well last night. He had found himself unable to calm his mind and distract himself enough to sleep properly, a problem only compounded by the absence of Marinette sleeping beside him. He had only fallen into a fitful sleep from sheer inability to keep his eyes open. This had the unfortunate consequence of him being barely able to drag himself out of bed the next morning. It was very lucky that today he had the day off.

Marinette has the day off as well, he knows. They had planned to spend today together, but breakups had a way of derailing plans. And so, he was left moping round the house without the motivation to do anything in particular, Plagg snoozing on a cushion in a corner.

The apartment was in that state where it's a little to messy to be called clean, and was skating the line between 'lived in' and 'too messy to be considered healthy'. It was more than a little pathetic, but Adrien figures he's allowed to be a little pathetic after his girlfriend of three years breaks up with him for reasons Adrien still doesn't fully understand.

And so he doesn't make much of an effort to properly tidy, instead shifting stuff around the apartment in a pretence of busyness. It's not terribly effective, and it leaves his mind free to dwell on things he probably shouldn't be dwelling on, like that kiss last night.

Adrien isn't ashamed to say he enjoyed that kiss, short as it was. Marinette's kisses are always special, and Adrien treasures every single one. He misses the casual intimacy they had, the easy affection and fierce intensity. Despite his admittedly lacklustre efforts, Adrien loses himself in dwelling on the past.

* * *

A knock on the door shakes him from his reverie. It's soft, but distinct, and Adrien, glad for the distraction, leaps up to open it. He swings the door open to reveal Marinette fidgeting nervously on the other side.

"Mari?"

* * *

It had seemed like a great idea at the time, bringing Adrien his favourite biscuits as an apology gift and as an excuse to attempt an explanation as well. Only now, as she stood outside their- his apartment block with a container of biscuits, did it seem rather foolish to try and apologise, especially like this

Was it too presumptuous, too weird? She wasn't his girlfriend anymore, she wasn't even sure she counted as a friend. But the voice in her head that sounds like Tikki is encouraging her to push ahead. She has come this far, and so she takes a deep breath and steps up to knock on the door as bravely as she feels.

The door swings open after a few nervous moments, and Marinette is forced to confront Adrien, who is staring at her with his mouth parted slightly. Both stand frozen for several crystalline moments, taking in the sight of each other.

Adrien looks like shit.

His hair is everywhere, his shoulders slumped, and his eyes have a slightly glassy look, not quite focussing on her. His clothes are lightly askew and rumpled, his shirt the same as the one he wore yesterday. Marinette's guilt intensifies at his general state of unkemptness and exhaustion.

Before she can come up with any excuse to skedaddle, Adrien snaps more properly upright and takes a breath in. Before he can get a word out, Marinette thrusts her hands out with the container clutched between them.

"For you," she says, pushing the box into his loose fingers. She is about to turn tail and escape when Adrien clasps her wrist gently.

"M-mari, please, stay a little. I-I just…"

Despite her internal monologue now being tuned to constant silent screaming, Marinette nods slightly, and trails after Adrien into the apartment.


End file.
